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2006 Intertoto Cup competitions ended on Saturday - 11 teams that won victories in the third round matches earned tickets to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The sensation of the tournament was the exit of last season's Champions League semi-finalist "Villarreal" who lost to a Slovenian club, while all the other favorites achieved the necessary results and continued their battles in Europe.
In an unexpected setback at home, "Villarreal" had to retaliate away against "Maribor" to avoid elimination, and their situation was further complicated in the 80th minute by Alessio Tacchinardi receiving a red card. Although a precise long-range shot by Nihat five minutes before the end of the match gave the Spanish team hope, Gonzalo Rodriguez was soon sent off the field.
Despite gaining a significant numerical advantage, the hosts managed to break through the opponent's defense, and in the penultimate minute, Goraždas Zajcas, breaking away alone against the goalkeeper, equalized the score. "Villarreal" withdrew from the tournament and even had to finish the match with eight players, as Diego Forlan also received a red card for a foul on his opponent.
One of the most interesting matches took place in Moscow, where after a goalless first half, the local team "Moskva" hosted the club "Hertha". However, the German team demonstrated their skill and secured a victory - Marko Pantelić scored the first goal with a powerful shot into the far corner of the goal in the middle of the first half, and in the second half Yildiray Bastürk, after a pass from M.Pantelić, also scored for "Hertha" to solidify their victory.
At home, "Marseille" ended their match with "Dnipro" with no goals, but they had to work harder away. The French team took the lead after Mamadou Niang and Wilson Oruma's goals in the 71st and 75th minutes, but a few minutes later, Sergej Nazarenko softened the deficit, and a nervy end to the match was decided by Andrejus Rusolо's equalizing goal for the visitors.
Despite a minimal advantage in Romania against "Farul", "Auxerre" qualified for the UEFA Cup matches, "Newcastle" secured a convincing victory in Norway, and also "Twente", "Odense", "Ethnikos", "Kayserispor", "Ried" and "Grasshoppers".
Intertoto Cup third round results:
- Enschede's "Twente" (Netherlands) 3 - 1 "Kalmar" (Sweden) (First leg 0-1, aggregate 3-2)
- Edinburgh's "Hibernian" (Scotland) 2 - 1 "Odense" (Denmark) (First leg 0-1, aggregate 2-2)
- "Lillestrom" (Norway) 0 - 3 "Newcastle" (England) (First leg 1-1, aggregate 1-4)
- Achna's "Ethnikos" (Cyprus) 2 - 3 Petah Tikva's "Maccabi" (Israel) (First leg 2-0, aggregate 4-3)
- Kayseri's "Kayserispor" (Turkey) 2 - 0 "Larissa" (Greece) (First leg 0-0, aggregate 2-0)
- "Moscow" (Russia) 0 - 2 Berlin's "Hertha" (Germany) (First leg 0-0, aggregate 0-2)
- Constanta's "Farul" (Romania) 1 - 0 "Auxerre" (France) (First leg 1-4, aggregate 2-4)
- Dnipro's "Dnipro" (Ukraine) 2 - 2 "Marseille" (France) (First leg 0-0, aggregate 2-2)
- "Tiraspol" (Moldova) 1 - 1 "Ried" (Austria) (First leg 1-3, aggregate 2-4)
- "Gent" (Belgium) 1 - 1 Zurich's "Grasshoppers" (Switzerland) (First leg 1-2, aggregate 2-3)
- "Maribor" (Slovenia) 1 - 1 "Villarreal" (Spain) (First leg 2-1, aggregate 3-2)
